BiomX Ltd.

For the first time, scientists have designed a phage combination therapy that can precisely target and suppress gut bacteria associated with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The work showcases the possibility of using phages for treating diseases associated with gut microbiota. For the first time, scientists have designed a phage combination therapy that can precisely target and suppress gut bacteria associated with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Presented on August 4 in the journal Cell, the work showcases the possibility of using phages for treating diseases associated with gut microbiota. "The biggest problem with applying phage therapies is that there is a constant arms race between bacteria and phages," says Eran Elinav, director of the Systems Immunology department, Weizmann Institute of Science and the Microbiome & Cancer Division, German National Cancer Center (DKFZ) and the corresponding author of the study. "If you apply a single phage on a bacterium, the bacterium would likely develop resistance mechanisms very rapidly. To our knowledge, we are the first to use an orally-administered phage combination therapy against a disease-contributing gut commensal, while tackling the huge issue of phage resistance and treating a non-communicable disease." IBD includes a group of chronic inflammatory disorders of the gut that affect millions of people in the world. While the cause of IBD remains unclear, previous research has suggested that certain bacteria in the gut are linked to the disease. Researchers have tried using antibiotics to treat IBD, but these therapies are not sufficiently specific or effective. Antibiotics kill the friendly gut bacteria along with the pathogenic ones, can cause adverse effects, and give rise to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. "This proof-of-concept study utilizes phages as a precision weapon in suppressing a group of commensal strains contributing to IBD," says Elinav. "But our vision is that this new modality could potentially be developed and applied against a number of other IBD-associated bugs, and also against commensals that are involved with other diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and more." Elinav's team, in collaboration with a group of international scientists, and the Weizmann Institute of Science's spinoff phage therapy company BiomX Ltd compared the gut microbiota compositions of 537 IBD patients to healthy controls enrolled in cohort studies in France, Israel, the U.S., and Germany. The team found IBD patients, despite their differences in geography, ethnicity and diet, tend to have a group of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) strains enriched in their gut, especially in those who are experiencing disease flare-ups. When transplanting the Kp into mice, the team found that mice developed a severe intestinal inflammation and tissue damage, suggesting that these Kp strains may contribute to worsening of IBD. Next, Elinav and his team scanned and isolated thousands of bacteriophages from environmental samples. Bacteriophages are viruses that can target and infect bacteria. They identified some 40 phages that appear to be effective against the IBD-contributing Kp strains, including strains that have already developed phage resistance. The team tested the phages in various groups as a potential cocktail treatment against IBD-contributing Kp strains. In these phage combinations, each of the phages uses a different receptor to enter bacteria, and kills them through different mechanisms. Even if the bacteria mutate, rendering one of their receptors resistant, there will be back-ups, Elinav says. An effective cocktail design can prevent phage-resistant bacteria from forming and spreading, he adds. Elinav and his team discovered the most effective phage combination, which contains five phages, in suppressing the Kp strains in the test tube, as well as in mice IBD models, where the phage cocktail attenuated inflammation and tissue damage. The team further tested two representative phages from this cocktail in a phase I clinical trial that involves 18 healthy volunteers. The experiment showed that the phages can survive at high levels and remain active throughout the gastrointestinal tract when taken with antacids while not impacting the surrounding microbiota. Participants had no severe treatment-related adverse events. The team plans to further test the 5-phage cocktail in a subsequent phase II trial encompassing IBD patients that harbor the disease-contributing Kp strains. In addition, Elinav and his team are working to identify bacteria associated with other diseases and to develop effective phage combination therapies against them. "What we envision is a precision medical pipeline," says Elinav. "Using it, we can characterize the pathogenic bacteria of a person suffering from a disease related to the gut microbiota, and then apply a phage therapy that would be tailored to the individual to suppress the bacteria."

Boehringer Ingelheim has forged a second inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) collaboration with BiomX. The two companies will work together to identify biomarkers for the disease using the Israel-based BiomX's XMarker discovery platform. Shares of BiomX jumped more than 23% in premarket trading following the announcement. The two companies intend to use the discovery platform, a microbiome-based technology, to identify biomarkers for a pathogenic bacterium thought to be associated with IBD, a term that includes both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two companies hope that the XMarker platform will find biomarkers that could indicate which IBD patients would receive benefit from microbiome-targeted therapies. According to its website, Boehringer is assessing a Phase II kinase inhibitor in combination with Janssen's Stelara, a drug already approved for Crohn's disease, which could benefit patients with this form of IBD. Boehringer was also assessing studying spesolimab, a selective antibody that blocks the activation of the interleukin-36 receptor in Crohn's. However, that trial has been terminated, according to a notification on clinicaltrials.gov. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted priority review to spesolimab as a potential treatment for generalized pustular psoriasis flares. Carine Boustany, senior vice president and site head of discovery research in the U.S. and head of global immunology and respiratory disease research at Boehringer, said the company is developing a first-in-class pipeline to address unmet needs in IBD. Some of those needs include "complications, utilizing clinical and biomarker measures to identify these patient segments. "This collaboration will help us advance our understanding of a segment of patients with IBD that may specifically benefit from blunting the recognition of the pathogenic microbiome," Boustany continued. The collaboration announced Tuesday builds on a partnership the two companies established in 2020 that focused on identifying biomarkers associated with patient phenotypes in IBD. That collaboration also concentrated on the XMarker platform, which uses a metagenomics-based approach to discover predictive microbial genomic signatures to be further developed into biomarkers, according to company information. The platform combines ultra-high-resolution DNA analysis, AI techniques and high-scale cloud computing resources to build classifiers of high sensitivity and specificity. Jonathon Solomon, chief executive officer of BiomX, expressed excitement over the new agreement with the Germany-based life sciences company. "Inflammatory bowel disease is a heterogenous inflammatory condition that remains extremely difficult to treat. By leveraging our unique, ultra-high resolution XMarker biomarker discovery platform, we hope to identify those biomarkers that can pinpoint the presence of pathogenic bacteria associated with IBD. Through this collaboration, we may be able to develop effective biomarkers that can be used to segment patient groups within IBD which could help determine the most appropriate course of therapy," Solomon said in a statement. Under the terms of the collaboration, BiomX will be entitled to receive a research payment of an undisclosed amount of money. Additionally, Boehringer will have the option to negotiate for exclusive rights to biomarkers discovered under the deal. BiomX retains the right to use the biomarkers as companion diagnostics for phage therapy.

DUBLIN, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Synthetic Biology: Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The synthetic biology industry is a prime growth opportunity due to several factors. First, many of the applications for synthetic biology have large addressable markets and the penetration rate is still modest; the industry will experience explosive growth as these penetration rates accelerate. Second, development of exciting new technologies is driving innovation within the industry. These technologies include ultra-high-throughput screening platforms for organism design, enzymatic DNA synthesis and novel gene editing platforms. Third, the industry is focusing on value-added products, placing less emphasis on cost-sensitive, commodity products. The report provides in-depth coverage of the dynamic synthetic biology industry, including insights into its component technologies and market segments, as well as its leading participants. The synthetic biology industry consists of three main sets of technologies and products: enabling, core and enabled. Enabling technologies and products are the engines that drive the development of the synthetic biology industry. Core products and technologies, including standardized DNA parts, synthetic genes and chassis organisms, are the key tools by which cellular factories and systems produce enabled products. Synthetic biology-enabled products (e.g., pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biofuels, agricultural, textiles, food) have large downstream market potential. Synthetic biology technologies add value in each of these downstream industries. In agriculture, synthetic biology makes it possible to produce crops with desired traits, such as pest resistance or high yields. Synthetic biology allows for the production of foods free of animal products, meeting an emerging consumer need in this industry. The study scope includes core synthetic biology products (e.g., oligonucleotides, synthetic genes, BioBrick parts, delivery plasmids, chassis organisms, synthetic cells, cell-based and cell-free production systems), enabling technologies (e.g., DNA sequencing, DNA synthesis, gene editing, bioinformatics, specialty media) and enabled technologies (e.g., healthcare, industrial chemicals, consumer products, food and beverage, agriculture) that are already commercialized or are forecast to be commercialized through 2026. Key synthetic biology technologies and products are analyzed to determine present and future market status, as well as forecasted growth from 2021 to 2026. An in-depth discussion of strategic alliances, industry structures, competitive dynamics, patents and market-driving forces is also provided. The role of key strategic alliances and acquisitions from 2018 to 2020 is discussed. Emerging markets, including synthetic genes, synthetic-biology-enabled drugs and vaccines, genome-edited crops and chassis organisms; as well as metabolically engineered factories for producing synthetic fuels and specialty chemicals, are analyzed, and more than 215 companies in these fields are highlighted. The Report Includes An up-to-date review and analysis of the global market for synthetic biology within the life science industry Analyses of the global market trends, with data from 2019 to 2021, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2026 Evaluation and forecast the global synthetic biology market size, forecasted growth trends, and corresponding market share analysis by product type, end-user industry, and region Highlights of the current and future market potential for synthetic biology products and technologies, and areas of focus to forecast this market into various segments and sub-segments Description of core synthetic biology products, key enabling technologies, and identify commercial opportunities for product development and competitive strategies In-depth assessment of the synthetic biology industry structure, competitors review, and intellectual property landscape Information on synthetic biology industry M&A deals, development of commercially viable products and technologies, and other strategic alliances within the industry Patent review and analysis of patents granted for synthetic biology technologies, liquid biopsy and sequencing, and gene-editing industry Detailed profiles of about 185+ companies within synthetic biology industry. Major players include Agilent Technologies Inc., Eurofins Scientific, GenScript, Merck KGaA, Novozymes A/S, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Twist Bioscience Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights Chapter 3 Overview Synthetic Biology Technologies Covered in this Report Value Chain Analysis Synthetic Biology Overview Development Stage of Synthetic Biology Forces Driving the Growth of the Market for Synthetic Biology Global Market for Synthetic Biology by End-User Industry Product and Technology Life Cycles Synthetic Biology Industry Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Market for Synthetic Biology Chapter 4 Technology Background Chapter 5 Synthetic Biology Applications Chapter 6 Synthetic Biology Industry Chapter 7 Global Market for Synthetic Biology Chapter 8 Patents Chapter 9 Company Profiles 20N Labs Inc. Abeona Therapeutics LLC Active Motif Agilent Technologies Inc. Agrivida Inc. Ajinomoto Co. Inc. Algenuity Amfora Inc. Ansa Biotechnologies Inc. Antheia Inc. Arbor Biotechnologies Inc. Arcadia Biosciences Inc. Arcturus Therapeutics Inc. Ardra Bio Inc. Arzeda Corp. Astrazeneca plc Avecia Azitra Inc. Basf AG Bayer AG Beam Therapeutics Inc. Benchling Benson Hill Biosystems Inc. Bio Basic Inc. Bio S&T Inc. Biogen Inc. Biomax Informatics AG Biomx Ltd. Bioneer Corp. Biosyntia Aps Bluebird Bio Inc. Bolt Threads Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Cargill Inc. Caribou Biosciences Inc. Caszyme Centrient Pharmaceuticals Codagenix Inc. Codexis Inc. Corbion Crispr Therapeutics Cronos Group Crown Laboratories Inc. Danaher Corp. Dovetail Genomics LLC Edigene Inc. Editas Medicine Inc. Eligo Bioscience Sas Enevolv Inc. Epoch Life Science Inc. Eurofins Scientific Evonetix Exxonmobil Corp. Geltor Inc. Genemed Synthesis Inc. Genomatica Genscript Genus plc Gevo Inc. Gilead Sciences Inc. Ginkgo Bioworks GlaxoSmithKline plc Glycosyn LLC Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Helixworks Technologies Ltd. Homology Medicines Inc. Huvepharma Illumina Inc. Impossible Foods Inc. Industrial Microbes Inc. Ingenza Ltd. Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. Inscripta Inc. Labgenius Ltd. Locus Biosciences Logicbio Therapeutics Lumen Bioscience Lygos Inc. Meissa Vaccines, Inc. Merck Kgaa Microbyre, Inc. Microsoft Corp. Microsynbiotix Milis Bio Ltd. Modern Meadow Modular Genetics Inc. Molecular Assemblies Inc. Novome Biotechnologies Inc. Novozymes A/S Nuclera Nucleics Ltd. Omega Bio-Tek Inc. Oragenics Inc. Pairwise Plants Inc. Pfizer Inc. Pivot Bio Poseida Therapeutics Inc. Precision Biosciences Inc. Prokarium Holdings Ltd. Promega Corp. Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. Scarab Genomics LLC Sherlock Biosciences Sigma Aldrich Corp. Synthace Ltd. Synthego Corp. Synthetic Biologics Inc. Takara Bio Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Tierra Biosciences Transcriptic Inc. Triton Algae Innovations Ltd. Vedanta Biosciences Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Xyphos Biosciences, Inc. Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. 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